Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land!
- From a mawkish poem by Sir Walter Scott
But, my, how it's changed since I lived here. All the shiny new buildings, dominated by One World Trade Center toward the left. This is lower Manhattan taken from across the Hudson in New Jersey. There would normally be a spectacular fireworks display on the water tonight for the 4th of July but thunderstorms are likely.
Maybe I should say if I can pay for it there, I can pay for it anywhere. What the hell, I'm retired. This money only has to last me for the rest of my life.
Visitors to New York have several options for sky high observation decks these days. When I was a kid everyone went to the Empire State Building, seen here on the right. Yesterday we went to a new one called, appropriately enough, The Summit, at a gigantic building next to Grand Central Station, One Vanderbilt Place. (Yes, the same Vanderbilt as in the Monopoly game. Anyway, see https://summitov.com/). I must say that I was impressed. We will probably see more of this.
